Proceedings, 8th African Rift Geothermal Conference

Nairobi, Kenya: 2 – 8 November 2020

Characterization of the resistivity structure, cap rock and

the geothermal reservoir of Aluto Langano geothermal
field in Ethiopia through 1-D, 2-D and 3-D Inversion of
Magneto telluric (MT) Data

Weldeyohannes Hadush Nega

Ethiopia Electric Power (EEP)

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Email: weldeyohannesh@yahoo.com
Key words: Aluto Langano, Magneto telluric inversion, resistivity, cap rock, reservoir
ABSTRACT

One-dimensional, two-dimensional and three-dimensional magnetotelluric inversions were

used to reveal the subsurface resistivity structure in the Aluto Volcanic Complex field,
Ethiopia. A Fifty three magnetotelluric sounding data spanning 6 EW profile lines were
inverted using Occam’s inversion scheme. A total of 126 MT soundings were used for the 3-
D Model and the results of the surface and subsurface resistivity structure were plotted using
the 3-D Grid, Voxler for (3-D), and Surfer 13 for (1-D). Results show the extensive of a
conductive layer (below 10 Ωm) below the volcanic overburden. This conductive layer was
interpreted as the clay cap as a result of thermal alteration (low-temperature zeolites and the
clay minerals smectite formed as reflected in the existing wells LA-10D and LA-10D). A
higher resistivity layer (11-100 Ω m) indicates the reservoir, which is confirmed from the
existing wells corresponding to high temperature alteration minerals like chloride, epidote
etc. beneath the clay cap. It was interpreted as the reservoir whose top boundaries vary from
east to west of the study area between 1,000 m and 1,500 m below sea level. The approximate
depth of the reservoir is from 2,000 m to 2,700 m. The subsurface resistivity structure and the
faults were clearly delineated especially in 2-D and 3-D inversion models. From the inversion
results, the subsurface resistivity structure shows a high-low-high resistivity model.

1. Introduction
Ethiopia is located in the horn of Africa and the East Africa Rift passes through the whole
length of the country covering 1,500 km. geothermal exploration activity in Ethiopia started
in 1969.This revealed the existence of both low and high enthalpy geothermal resources
which can be used for both electricity power generation and direct use both in the Ethiopian
Rift valley and Afar depression.

Preliminary geothermal exploration has identified more than 23 potential areas for
geothermal energy development (UNDP, (1973 and JICA, (2015). Most of these geothermal
resources have not yet been explored and evaluated in detail. The highly dependency on
 Weldeyohannes Hadush Nega

hydropower energy sources and unclear geothermal policy, rules and regulations has caused
in exploration and development projects in the country. Currently the Geological Survey of
Ethiopian (GSE) and Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) are collaborating with international
funding agencies such as World Bank, ICEADA, and JICA to develop the Auto Langano
geothermal previously, eight wells were drilled and 7.2 MWe pilot power plant was
constructed and installed. From 2009 to 2015, WEST JEC drilled two additional production
wells in Aluto field. The wells will be used in installing 5MWewellhead power plant.

Since 2014, EEP, GSE, World Bank and ICEADA have carried out intensive geoscientific
explorations such as geological, geophysical and geochemical works have been applyed used
to make new geothermal models in the Auto Langano and Allalobad geothermal fields. The
geophysical gravity, micro seismic, magneto telluric (MT) and transient electromagnetic
(TEM).

In Aluto, 40 MT soundings were done by WEST JEC in 2009 in the central part of the Aluto
volcano, 126 MT and 162 TEM surveys) were performed in 2015 to 2016 by electrocounsult
(ELC). Therefore, the objective of this paper is, to evaluate the subsurface resistivity structure
related to geothermal resource using 1-D, 2-D and 3-D MT inversions.

2. Location of Aluto Langano

Aluto Langano (Figure 2.1)is one of the major geothermal prospects in Ethiopia. The
prospect is located about 200km southeast of the capital city, Addis on the floor of the Main
Ethiopian Rift Valley (MERV) and is close to the eastern escarpment. The study area is
located in the Oromia region,Eastern Showa zone which is 13 km east in the district known
as Addis- Ababa to Hawassa between the rift Lakes of Langano and Ziway. The geographical
location is between lies 860,846 to 861,250N, 477,807 to 477,403 E, and its elevation is
extends from 1,600m to 2,223 m above sea level. It covers an area of about 100 km2.

Figure 2.1: Location map of the study area.

 Weldeyohannes Hadush Nega

3. Geological Summary of Aluto Langano

3.1 Main Geological and Structural Features of the Aluto volcanic complex
The Aluto volcanic complex (AVC) is situated at the junction between two important
hydrological basins, whose central portions are presently occupied by Lake Ziway in the
north and by the three sister lakes of Langano, Abiyata and Shala in the south. The main
geological formations of the area according to ELC (2016) was summarized as,
a. Per-Aluto Volcanic Products
Which includes the Boffa Basalt, Dima Trachyte, Ignimbrite, Rhyolite and Basalt,
b. Volcanic Products of the Aluto Volcanic Complex
Which includes the Aluto Older Volcanics (Pre caldera), Aluto Younger Volcanic
(Post caldera) and Aluto Rhyolite,
c. Sedimentary Deposits
Which includes the Pleistocene Lacustrine Deposits, Alluvial, and Colluvial
Deposits
3.2 Structural Setting
The regional tectonic setting and dynamic movements govern volcano–tectonic activities of
the AVC. In the region, all the four families of fracture systems that are known in the whole
East Africa interact in various intensities in the AVC. According to ELC (2016), four
directions of tectonic settings recognized in the area, namely: (1) NW-SE or Red Sea trend;
(2) ENEWSW or Gulf of Aden trend; (3) NE-SW or Ethiopian Rift trend and (4) NNE-SSW
or Wonji Fault Belt trend.
3.2.1. The NW-SE or Red Sea Trend
In the study area as shown in figure 3.1, the NW fracture system is visible cross-cutting the
NE major faults system, forming small rhombic terrains in the south-eastern parts of the
AVC, in particular between Munesa and Aluto and to a minor extent in its south-central and
northern parts. The south-central NW faults cross Aluto diagonally and connect several
important hydrothermal manifestation, such as: Kore – Finkilo (near Jawe Artu) and Oitu
Artu – Adonsha. The NW system contains also more than seven craters and volcanic centers.
It may be concluded that, based on the regional pattern, the intersection areas between the
NNE and the NW fracture systems could be promising for geothermal energy development.
 Weldeyohannes Hadush Nega

Figure 3.1: The geological map of the study area (ELC, 2016).

3.2.2 The ENE-WSW or Gulf of Aden Trend

In the MER, the ENE trend forms important lineaments such as the Ambo fault (Abate and
Sagri, 1980) and the Goba-Bonga lineament. Some volcanic centres on the rift margin and
within the rift itself also follow the ENE trend, but are not as important as the NW-SE trend.
Most of the calderas in the rift are elongated in nearly E-W direction (Acocella et al., 2009).
The Aluto caldera follows the same trend. Moreover, the southern rim of the caldera is made-
up of a chain of volcanic centers and craters that are elongated and aligned in E-W direction.
The southern part of the AVC is clearly higher than its northern part, probably because a
northward breaching took place at Aluto before the caldera collapse.

3.2.3 The NE-SW or Ethiopian Rift Trend

In the study area, the NE-SW trending faults and tectonic features mainly expressed in the
eastern and SE sectors and most of the trends deviate towards N, forming the NNE. Some of
the volcanic centers, include the youngest three centers situated in the northwestern part of
the caldera (Worbota and two more to the NE, follow a NE-SW trend). This system has
contributed significantly to the external and internal structural configuration of AVC. One of
the most important considerations refers to the fact that the older rock units, such as the
Munesa crystal ignimbrite and the overlying Bofa basalt outcropping in the eastern side, are
gradually lowered down to the west. These units are found at a depth of several hundred
meters in the central part of the AVC.

3.2.4 The NNE-SSW or Wonji Fault Belt (WFB) Trend

This fracture system has a strike that varies between N10° to N30° and Mohr, 1962, which
was named the Wonji Fault Belt (WFB). Many authors (e.g. Coti et al., 2013 and references
therein) studied the system in terms of mechanism of opening, associated volcanic rocks and
 Weldeyohannes Hadush Nega

magmatic activities. Almost all authors agree these young axial (close to the eastern margin)
and marginal (Butajira-Debre Zeyt) faults.

4. Water rock interaction and alteration mineralogy

The alteration processes and the resulting type of alteration minerals depend on the type of
primary minerals and the chemical composition of the geothermal fluid and temperature (see
right part of Figure 4.2). The intensity of the alteration further depends on the contact time
and texture of the host rocks. Alteration intensity is normally low for temperatures below
50°C. At temperatures below 220°C, low-temperature zeolites and the clay minerals smectite
formed. Smectite has hydrated and loosely bound cations between the silica plates, making
the mineral conductive and provides it with a high cation exchange capacity Árnason et al.
(2000).

Figure 4.2: The general resistivity structure of a high temperature geothermal system.

5. Overview of the MT Data

5.1. Methodology
The choice of geophysical techniques (e.g. magnetotelluric) for subsurface investigations
plays an important role in successful geothermal development. The choice of geophysical
methods the local terrain conditions, access and logistic difficulties, availability of
instruments and associated cost.

Considering these requirements, magnetotelluric (MT) survey was used to achieve the
objectives of this research work. The survey was carried out by EEP, GSE, and ELC
September 2015 to July 2016 to detect the location evaluate the geothermal reservoir.

5.2 Station Spacing

In this survey, the overall average MT station spacing, which was depends on the local
topographic site up and accessibility of the area, was about 800 m,

5.3 Data Acquisition and Instruments used

 Weldeyohannes Hadush Nega

Data was acquired 166 MT points (Figure 5.1(right). A 5-component MTU layout was used
for all survey. The maximum current electrode separation is 50 m from the MTU unit in east-
west and NS directions The induction coils (X, Y, and Z) were laid on the quadrants
separately. X- coil is laid in the N-S direction in one of the quadrant at 45o, Y-coil is laid E-
W direction in one of the other quadrant at 45o relative to the MTU and Z-coil is inserted
vertically in one of the other quadrant at 45o. All coils are away 15 m from the MTU. One
GB compact flash is inserted in the MTU and all the set up parameters are arranged in the
appropriate ways (see Figure 5.1 left) to record the necessary field data. In each case, the
period of the data recode was 19-24 hours, the electrode resistance was measured and
recorded. Figure 5.1 (left) shows the detail layout of the MT survey of the field.

Figure 5.1: MT survey layout (left) and MT station map (right).

5.4 MT Data Processing Overview (Row field data)

The MT data values copied from the compact flash to the PC and the quality of the data, the
record time and the electromagnetic field, which was observed. The electromagnetic field
have processed and edited using the Phoenixes software; (SSMT2000, Sync TSVP
(Synchronic Time Series View program) MT Editor, and MT Plot) based on the Phoenixes
Geophysics standard waveforms (2005). After editing, the data was transformed and stored
in the EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) file.

6. Basic Concept of MT Inversion

Inversion is the procedure of estimating physical earth parameters from a set of observed
data. Linearized inversion schemes provide one method for dealing with nonlinear inversion
problems (those problems where the data’s are nonlinearly related to the model parameters).
They involve expanding the model response in a Taylor series around some point in the
model space, and then solving for the model changes that minimize the error between the
 Weldeyohannes Hadush Nega

model response and the observed data. Many such schemes exist, such as the nonlinear least
squares method, and the maximum likelihood inversion procedure (Mackie, Bennett et al.,
1988). The maximum likelihood solution is the solution that maximizes the joint probability
of fitting the observed data (subject to the data covariance) and adhering to an a priori model
(subject to the model covariance). One obtains this solution with the help of the sensitivity
matrix, which is the matrix that relates small changes in the model parameters to changes in
the observed data.
This section describes the codes used and software programs in the inversions applied to the
data from Aluto Langano field. For both 1-D and 2-D inversions, the Occam’s inversion
method was used The 1-D Occam’s inversion of electromagnetic sounding data was first
suggested by Constable et al., (1987) followed by the 2-D inversion introduced by Hedlin et
al. (1990). The Occam’s inversion produce a smooth model that fits data sets with a certain
tolerance. By using smoothness, an inverted model gives the best fit to the data. Surfer 13
software was used to plot the 1-D resistivity cross section.

Figure 6.1: MT sounding cures (left) and its 1-D Occam inversion result (right) of station AT021.

For the 3-D model, 3-D Grid software was used to prepare for processing the data in the
ModEM 3-D program. The result from the ModEM 3-D data was used in Voxler4 3-D
software program, to plot the 3-D MT resulted starting from mapping the surfaces resistivity
to the depth of 6,000 meter below the surface to clarify the resistivity of the subsurface cap
rock and depth of the geothermal reservoir. The results of the 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D inversion
models are presented below.

7. Results and Discussions

For this project, selected 91 MT data were used for 1-D and 2-D inversions and all data were
used for 3-D inversion. I tried to process more than 12 profiles in different orientations (EW,
NS and NE-SW) but for this study, I choose only six EW representative profiles (see in
Figure 7.1) that show the best result.
 Weldeyohannes Hadush Nega

Figure 7.1: MT location map of WE profiles

From all the MT resistivity inversion models below, the local resistivity anomalies are
recognized in both 1-D, 2-D and 3-D inversion models. The subsurface resistivity structures,
e.g. depth of the cap rock, faults and the reservoir of the field are clearly identifying. The cap
rock of the study area (below 10 Ωm) is located below the overburden shallow high
resistivity formations (and its depth is vary from west to east almost from 500 to 1,500 m.
This conductive layer is interpreted as the clay cap resulted from thermal alteration (low-
temperature zeolites and the clay minerals smectite formed as reflected in the existing wells
LA-90 D and 10 D (located between profiles 3 and 4).
A higher resistivity layer (11-100 Ωm) which is confirmed from the existing wells as high
temperature alteration minerals like chloride, epidote etc., underlies below the clay cap. It is
interpreted as the reservoir whose top boundaries is vary from east to west of the study area
between 1,000 m and 1,500 m below sea level. The subsurface resistivity structure and the
faults (especially in 2-D and 3-D inversion models (see Figure 7.3 and 7.4 respectively) is
clearly indicating).
The resistivity anomaly that shows the boundary of the cap rock and reservoir may be
represent the fault structure of the field area which is resemble with the regional and local
structural setups mainly (NNE-SSW Wonj Belt Fault, NE-SW of the main Ethiopian rift
trained) respectively.
From the inversion result, the subsurface resistivity structure model shows the high-low-high
resistivity model. The general outcome of the subsurface resistivity structure can be modeled
as high-low-high and the reservoir system is fault control system (EW profiles 2, 4 and 6). As
the model, Figure 7.4 shows the approximate depth of the reservoir is from 2,000 to 2,700m
below sea level and very localized with in the field following depth of the cap rock and the
fault structures.
 Weldeyohannes Hadush Nega

Figure 7.2: 1-D Resistivity logs after Occam inversion along EW direction.
 Weldeyohannes Hadush Nega

Figure 7.4: 2-D resistivity profile after Occam inversion along EW direction (profile’s 1-6 respectively)
 Weldeyohannes Hadush Nega

The 3-D resistivity inversion model also developed in the center of the caldera near the
existing wells to see the subsurface structure. In this 3-D resistivity, the subsurface resistivity
is clearly visualized including the surface resistivity map. The depth of the cap rock and
reservoir are also indicated in the model that is similar to the 1-D, 2-D and the sub surface
information of the existing nearby wells.

Figure 7.5: 3-D resistivity model after inversion at the study area.

8. Conclusion
As the result of this study, I found new knowledge as follows,
 Magnetotelluric method is an important method for delineation and clarification of
subsurface resistivity.
 The location, and depth of the cap rock, reservoir and faults are clearly shown in the
inversion model
 The central and eastern part of the caldera shows the best resistivity anomaly area
 The reservoir is extends and becomes shallow towards the east part of the study area
with in the caldera.
 The NNE-SSW Wonji Belt fault, NE-SW Main Ethiopian fault trained and other local
faults are recognized and clearly identified by the MT inversion model; thus, fault
systems are considered as the sources of the geothermal.
 The depth of the reservoir in general from the inversion models is from 2,000 to
2,7000 m
 The field in general represented as high - low - high in resistivity structure model
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 Weldeyohannes Hadush Nega

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